Wisdom of Solomon 6:1-21
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Kings Should Seek Wisdom
6 Listen therefore, O kings, and understand;
learn, O judges of the ends of the earth.(A)
2 Give ear, you who rule over multitudes
and boast of many nations.
3 For your dominion was given you from the Lord
and your sovereignty from the Most High;
he will search out your works and inquire into your plans.(B)
4 Because as servants of his kingdom you did not rule rightly
or keep the law
or walk according to the purpose of God,(C)
5 he will come upon you terribly and swiftly,
because severe judgment falls on those in high places.
6 For the lowliest may be pardoned in mercy,
but the mighty will be mightily tested.(D)
7 For the Lord of all will not stand in awe of anyone
or show deference to greatness,
because he himself made both small and great,
and he takes thought for all alike.(E)
8 But a strict inquiry is in store for the mighty.
9 To you then, O monarchs, my words are directed,
so that you may learn wisdom and not transgress.(F)
10 For they will be made holy who observe holy things in holiness,
and those who have been taught them will find a defense.(G)
11 Therefore set your desire on my words;
long for them, and you will be instructed.
Description of Wisdom
12 Wisdom is radiant and unfading,
and she is easily discerned by those who love her
and is found by those who seek her.(H)
13 She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her.(I)
14 One who rises early to seek her will have no difficulty,
for she will be found sitting at the gate.(J)
15 To fix one’s thought on her is perfect understanding,
and one who is vigilant on her account will soon be free from care,(K)
16 because she goes about seeking those worthy of her,
and she graciously appears to them in their paths
and meets them in every thought.
17 The beginning of wisdom[a] is the most sincere desire for instruction,
18 and concern for instruction is love of her,
and love of her is the keeping of her laws,
and giving heed to her laws is assurance of immortality,(L)
19 and immortality brings one near to God,
20 so the desire for wisdom leads to a kingdom.(M)
21 Therefore if you delight in thrones and scepters, O monarchs over the peoples,
honor wisdom, so that you may reign forever.(N)
Footnotes
- 6.17 Gk Her beginning
Sirach 18:1-13
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Majesty of God
18 He who lives forever created the whole universe;(A)
2 the Lord alone will be justified.[a](B)
4 To none has he given power to proclaim his works,
and who can search out his mighty deeds?(C)
5 Who can measure his majestic power,
and who can fully recount his mercies?(D)
6 It is not possible to diminish or increase them,
nor is it possible to fathom the wonders of the Lord.(E)
7 When humans have finished, they are just beginning,
and when they stop, they are still perplexed.
8 What are humans, and of what use are they?
What is good in them, and what is evil?(F)
9 The number of days in their life is great if they reach one hundred years.[b](G)
10 Like a drop of water from the sea and a grain of sand,
so are a few years among the days of eternity.(H)
11 That is why the Lord is patient with them
and pours out his mercy upon them.
12 He sees and recognizes that their end is miserable;
therefore he grants his forgiveness all the more.(I)
13 The compassion of humans is for their neighbors,
but the compassion of the Lord is for every living thing.
He rebukes and trains and teaches them
and turns them back, as a shepherd his flock.(J)
Footnotes
- 18.2 Other ancient authorities add and there is no other beside him;
he steers the world with the span of his hand, and all things obey his will, for he is king of all things by his power, separating among them the holy things from the profane. - 18.9 Other ancient authorities add but the death of each one is beyond the calculation of all
James 2:1-13
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Warning against Partiality
2 My brothers and sisters, do not claim the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory while showing partiality.(A) 2 For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, 3 and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here in a good place, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit by my footstool,”(B) 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?(C) 6 But you have dishonored the poor person. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into the courts?(D) 7 Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well.(E) 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.(F) 11 For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but you murder, you have become a transgressor of[a] the law.(G) 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.(H) 13 For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.(I)
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- 2.11 Other ancient authorities read a rebel against
James 2:1-13
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Warning against Partiality
2 My brothers and sisters, do not claim the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory while showing partiality.(A) 2 For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, 3 and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here in a good place, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit by my footstool,”(B) 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?(C) 6 But you have dishonored the poor person. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into the courts?(D) 7 Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well.(E) 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.(F) 11 For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but you murder, you have become a transgressor of[a] the law.(G) 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.(H) 13 For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.(I)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2.11 Other ancient authorities read a rebel against
Luke 14:15-35
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Parable of the Great Dinner
15 One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”(A) 16 Then Jesus[a] said to him, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. 17 At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is ready now.’(B) 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’ 19 Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’ 20 Another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’(C) 21 So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’(D) 22 And the slave said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’ 23 Then the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you,[b] none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.’ ”(E)
The Cost of Discipleship
25 Now large crowds were traveling with him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.(F) 27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.(G) 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he cannot, then while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. 33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.(H)
About Salt
34 “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?[c](I) 35 It is useful neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; they throw it away. If you have ears to hear, then hear!”(J)
Read full chapterNew Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.